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Grapefruit Extract(GSE) is made by
first
converting grapefruit seeds and pulp into a very acidic liquid.
This liquid is loaded with
polyphenolic compounds,
including quercitin, helperidin, campherol glycoside, neohelperidin,
naringin,
apigenin, rutinoside, poncirin, etc. The polyphenols themselves are
unstable
but are chemically converted into more stable substances that belong to
a diverse class of products called quaternary ammonium compounds.
Some quaternary compounds, benzethonium
chloride and benzalkonium chloride, for example, are
used industrially
as antimicrobials, but are toxic to animal life. The B vitamin choline
is also a quaternary compound, but is non-toxic and even essential for
maintaining healthy neurological function and fat metabolism.
GSE features the best of both worlds:
the quaternary
compounds derived from grapefruit exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial
activity, while evidencing none of the toxic side-effects of
chemically-derived
quaternaries.
The finished product is a viscous,
yellow-amber colored
liquid that features a taste that is both bitter and acidic.
(Practitioners
of Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine consider both qualities to be part of
the therapeutic process.) Pure vegetable glycerin is added to reduce
the
bitterness and acidity to a tolerable level and to reduce the
possibility
that incidental contact could cause irritation to the skin or mucous
membranes.
How Does it Work?
It should come as no surprise that we
know a lot
more about what GSE is good for, than exactly how it works.
Take aspirin. Since its development
in 1899, billions
of people have benefited from its ability to reduce inflammation,
lessen
pain, and lower fever. But exactly how it works is only recently being
better understood.
From Seoul, Korea, Dr. Sung-Hwan of Abcom Chemie Co.,
Ltd states:
"Considering all the
electron micrographs,
we believe that the microbial uptake of GSE alters the cell membrane by
inhibiting enzymatic activities… You can see the loss of the
cytoplasmic
membrane."
What is not known is how GSE can
affect the cell
membranes of such a diverse group of microbes with virtually no
toxicity
toward animal life(The "Acute Oral Toxicity Study" performed by an
independent
laboratory concluded that you would have to take 4,000 times the normal
adult dose to risk a 50% chance of poisoning). And to complicate
matters
further, since viruses do not have a cell membrane of their own, how is
it that GSE can act as an antiviral remedy as it does?
Unraveling the mysteries of GSE and
its mechanisms
would undoubtedly provide extremely valuable insight into the basic
activity
of microbes. We might hope that research funds will become available to
answer the many questions raised about how it can be so potent and yet
so safe.
How was GSE
Discovered?
Jacob Harish was eating a grapefruit for
breakfast one morning in France and savoring its taste.
World War II had just ended and since
fresh fruit
was a rare treat in Europe at that time, Jacob savored it all the more
- until, that is, he bit into a seed! The extremely bitter taste of the
seed interrupted his enjoyment of breakfast but also prompted him to
wonder,
'What makes it so bitter?'
For many, such a question would have
been of mere
passing interest, but for Jacob, a budding scientist, it inspired a
compelling
inquiry, one that would take decades to answer and years more to 'bear
fruit'.
Jacob Harich was born in Yugoslavia
in 1919 and educated
in Germany. WWII interrupted his studies in nuclear physics. After
witnessing
the horrors of war as a fighter pilot, young Harich was inspired to
devote
the rest of his life to improving the human condition. To this end, he
augmented his studies in physics with a full university course in
medicine,
specializing in gynecology and immunology. Arriving in the United
States
in 1957, Dr. Harich furthered his education at Long Island University,
N.Y. But it wasn't until 1963, after moving to the heart of grapefruit
country in Florida, that he received the necessary support to carry out
his research.
Harich approached Dr. Steven Otwell
and Dr. Wayne
Marshall, both leading researchers on the effects of microbes on food.
Although initially skeptical, they were won over by the demonstration
of
GSE's amazing ability to protect produce, fish, and poultry from the
assault
of bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The reputation of these two doctors
and the renown of the food science laboratory at the University of
Florida,
Gainesville, their home base, prompted other institutions to consider
the
claims being made by Dr. Harich.
Finally, by 1990, holistic health
practitioners in
the United States began to hear about this remarkable product,
understand
the implications for their patients, and thereby gave Dr. Harich's work
the boost it deserved into scientific credibility.
In 1995 Dr. Harich was invited to
Europe as a guest
of honor of the Pasteur Institute of France, Europe's leading AIDS
research
center. For several years the Institute has been researching the
potential
of GSE as a prophylactic against the HIV virus as well as against some
of the secondary infections associated with AIDS. He was also honored
by
farmers in Europe who now use a powdered form of GSE in fish and
poultry
feed to fight two potentially lethal bacteria, Salmonella and E. Coli.
Dr. Harich died in May of 1996. It is
pleasant to
think that he did receive in his lifetime the recognition he deserved
for
a life devoted to a revolutionary approach to controlling dangerous
germs.
< style="font-weight: bold;">Hospitals
Use GSE...Environmentally Safe, Non-Toxic,and Potent
Grapefruit Seed Extract is becoming the disinfectant
and sanitizing agent of choice for many hospitals and clinics
throughout
the United States. In the laundry, GSE ensures that the linen is fungi
and bacteria free. As little as 10 - 15 drops of GSE added to the final
rinse does the trick.
Jerry Skidmore, C.L.M., the Manager
of Laundry Operations
for Florida Hospitals, wrote, "I have had 30 years experience in the
laundry
industry and it is only since using (GSE) that I have had the peace of
mind and assurance that the patients in our hospital and the other
hospitals
we serve have complete protection from fungal and bacteria infections
that
can be associated with linen. It is very gratifying to know that even
after
many hours of exposure to various bacteria that are always present in
hospitals,
that our linen has been tested and found free of all harmful or
pathogenic
organisms."
Hospitals have also added GSE to
their carpet shampooers.
It is reported that, ten to fifteen drops in the reservoir per gallon
is
effective in killing Staph, Strep, Aspergillus, Salmonella and many
other
pathogenic organisms which are present in hospital carpets.
Grapefruit Seed Extract at
higher concentrations
is used for sterilizing and disinfecting operating rooms and other
areas.
Ordinary concentrations used equate to around 300 ppm, while operating
rooms and similiar applications frequently use grapefruit seed
extract
at concentrations as high as 1%.
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